In this review, we look at one of the bigger solar generators and large battery packs to see what its capable of, what environments and situations you can use it in and more.

Like the other Goal Zero and the Solarpod, this can be charged in a number of ways. You can charge from solar panels, using the Goal Zero or some you already own, although you will need a 12v adapter. You can charge via a UK wall socket outlet and in your car as well using the 12v car cigarette lighter. You will see different times for charging the Goal Zero Yeti 400 depending on how you charge it, anywhere from 5 (for plug socket) through to 60 hours (on small 25W solar panel in bad weather).

The beauty of this solar generator is that you can charge the following devices from it or even choose to run some electrical items for a small amount of time.

Charge

GPS watch/GPS cycling device

Smartphones

Tablets

Headtorches

Batteries of all types with USB and 12v charging mounts

Cameras straight from the body which have USB charge

Laptops, just plug them in

and more!

Power Electrical Items

small fridge or electric cool box

small tv

wifi dongle connected to your phone network

electric hot plate

Lights and lamps

Fans

You need a bit more power than what the Yeti 150 provides, well this is quite a step up in terms of power and what it can charge and run. Again though, this is a lead acid technology battery, unlike the lithium offerings from the Maxoak and the Solarpod, so you have a heavier item and this means it's not great for anything other than camping trips by car, no backpacking.

That said, the real use for this device is as a backup for small camping trips and other days or adventures out when you need to charge a few items a handful of times. You'll find you need a bigger 50W-100W solar panel set up to charge this in anything less than 6 hours. Again, like the Yeti 150, you will need specific GZ adapters, there aren't any crocodile clips, the 12v is Goal Zeros own, as seen on their solar panels output.

Pros

Super large battery capacity

Can charge loads of different devices over multi-day trips

Can be charged by mains plug in the UK and car cigarette lighter in 5-8 hours

Cons

Its quite expensive for such a big battery

Its very heavy being lead acid, compare it to the solarpod which is a few KG lighter

You can't charge it via Goal Zero solar panels unless you're somewhere with blue skies and a lot of sun, even then it will take a day or two

You need adapters to add other generic solar panels to it that you might already own

It only has 2 USB outputs, the Maxoak has 4 of different power offerings

Verdict

If you want a really big battery set up that can handle anything you throw at it to charge, this will be great. If you want to try and run electrical items like fans, fridges, tvs, etc, it will struggle with this, it won't last too long.

Also for charging it via solar, you need a dedicated setup, not a roll out 25W solar panel, it will take days to charge it, and that is dependent on great weather.

Imagine charging this before you head out on your travels or you have a 12v car charger at the ready when driving about to keep it topped up, this will keep multiple peoples electrical items charged for multi-day trips, which is amazing, but that is where its offerings end.

Although it's a solar generator, it will struggle to charge from Goal Zero's solar offerings in less than a day, but as a really large battery pack with outputs on it, it's is terrific.